Moreno takes third at junior nationals

Alexia Moreno

Before entering every one of her wrestling tournaments, Alexia Moreno’s goal is simple. She wants to do better than before.

At the Junior & Cadet National Championships in the women’s freestyle competition in Fargo, N.D., Moreno accomplished that goal after placing third at 125 pounds — surpassing last year’s eighth-place showing in the same tournament. She went 4-1 on July 19, a run that included three pins and a win over Alexis Porter of New York in the third-place match.

“My feeling going into the tournament was that I was hoping to come back with a higher place than I did the year before,” Moreno said. “Hopefully, next year I’ll be in the platform for the finals.”

She said her lone loss came via a rare miscue, as she got caught off and pinned.

That same week, she helped Team California to the team title in the Junior Nationals Women’s Duals. California beat Texas in the finals.

Her third-place individual finish reminded Moreno that she’s progressing on the national stage, as she hopes to place even higher next year. Now, she’s looking forward to her senior season at Turlock High and continuing to compete for the school’s varsity wrestling squad.

Moreno wrapped up her junior season with a California state title, and then she went on to capture a national title at the USAW Girls Folkstyle National Tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla., in March.

In other Turlock wrestling news, four-time state medalist Fabian Garcia signed to wrestle with Cal State Bakersfield shortly before the conclusion of his senior year at Turlock High. He becomes just the third wrestler in Turlock’s storied wrestling history to join a Division I program: James Hollis went to West Point and current Bulldogs coach Mike Contreras competed for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“It is a great accomplishment for him to receive a scholarship to a D-I university and I’m sure he’ll make the most of it,” Contreras said about Garcia.